At the opening of 2019, I’m reviewing the state of something in 2019: what’s on the scene nowand what to look for in the coming year! This week, it’s the State of Movies, 2019 and to that end I talk with the amazing screenwriter Phil Hay, whose most recent film, Destroyer, features Nicole Kidman as a messed up cop, seeking revenge, in what I think is her best performance ever.

He’s also one of the writers behind the amazing horror film The Invitation. Phil creates these incredible movies with his wife, the director Karyn Kusama*, and his writing partner, Matt Manfredi. Phil once said, “To me, the main thing that I believe qualifies you to be a writer is that you’re really interested in other people.” And for Phil, includes his characters, the audience, and other filmmakers past and present. I’m so excited to share this conversation with you.

Phil and I talk: how genre films and how they’re overtaking moviemaking in general, the challenge of making challenging movies; the importance of truly female characters rather than women playing male roles; why we need a reappraisal of Phil/Karyn/Matt’s excellent (yeah, I said it) sci-fi movie starring Charlize Theron, Aeon Flux; how going to the theater pre-internet, without knowing what was playing, created a different way of watching; liking the movies we don’t like; horror audiences as the ideal audiences; portrayals of processing grief; the problem and promise of the cult; why cult-like statements can be useful; patriarchy as a narrative that is so boring that we need to overturn it; and finally, why Destroyer is such an amazing movie; and finally, why Destroyer is such an amazing movie!

*PS, sorry for mispronouncing Karyn’s name at the top. It’s KAH-rin, not CARE-in. Duh, Conner.

Click here for SHOW NOTES with the movies and books we mention, as well as a few other fun links